A Museum Of Underwater Art Has Now Officially Opened In North Queensland

Kassia is the Editor of AWOL, and a straight-up travel…

There’s nothing to make you feel more cultured than a trip to the art gallery or museum. It’s a good story to tell o first dates, you learn a little about the world, and it’s just kind of nice to spend the day wandering through.

Imagine levelling up you casual art gallery excursion though, with a bit of an underwater adventure? That’s exactly what you can now do in North Queensland.

Stage one of the Museum of Underwater Art (MOUA) in Townsville is officially open, kicking off with including Ocean Siren at The Strand and the Coral Greenhouse installation at John Brewer Reef in the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park.

*Coral Greenhouse. Image: Provided /Matt Curnock.*

The artworks were all created by Jason deCaires Taylor — the World’s leading underwater sculptor. In fact, he was one of the first to explore under the sea as an artistic space in its own right.

“The Museum of Underwater Art aims to create a (kind-of a) portal or an interface into our underwater world,” he explains. “A way to explore the Great Barrier Reef. To tell stories of the Great Barrier Reef and for people to understand what a fragile, beautiful and sacred space it really is”.

“MOUA is intended as a meeting point, a place where art, tourism, and marine science can collide”.

“An interface to explore the Great Barrier Reef, to discuss reef conservation, and also to provide educational and sustainable experiences for visitors”.

His art, found in underwater galleries around the world, explore themes of conservation and environmental activism. It’s no different for his MOUA sculptures.

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“The [Ocean Siren] aims to bring marine science and the data producers into an urban environment in a stark visual and emotive way,” Jason explains. “A way that provides a connection for the urban environment to actually understand what’s happening to the reefs in real-time”.

*Ocean Siren.Image: Provided /Jason deCaires Taylor.*

If you’re not ready to go it alone, there are plenty of commercial tour operators with licences to operate tours to the Coral Greenhouse installation, including:

Snorkel and a show? What a delight. May as well stay in Queensland’s underwater hotel while you’re at it.

(LeadImage: Provided /Matt Curnock)

Kassia Byrnes

Kassia is the Editor of AWOL, and a straight-up travel addict. She was born without a sense of direction, yet an intense desire to explore the world. As such, she's lost 90% of the time but she's learned to roll with it. You can catch her latest adventures on Instagram @probably_kassia.